Ivonne Vaziri-Elahi
Freelance Lecturer *
Ivonne is a Narrative Designer and Writer with over 20 years of experience in the games industry and related media. She has shaped the narratives of multiple award-winning productions, taking on lead roles from early concept development to launch and live service.
With a foundation in scriptwriting and film dramaturgy, Ivonne fell in love with the games industry early in her career, working at major studios on both a classic RPG and a large-scale action MMO. A few hundred quests later, she decided to go freelance long-term and has since collaborated with indie game developers, contributed to interactive cross-media and educational projects and brought her expertise to formats ranging from game title song lyrics to story-heavy board game.
Beyond her creative work, Ivonne supports the community with consulting, workshops, speaking at industry events and acting as a game jam juror.
As a teacher, Ivonne emphasizes practical methods for aligning narrative and gameplay, encouraging students to build strong interdisciplinary communication skills. She fosters a collaborative learning environment with a focus on peer review, creative ownership, and real-world development processes.
Ivonne’s approach is grounded in responsible, value-driven game development and a deep belief in the power of storytelling as a collective craft.
* Freelance lecturer